Untitled Subject
by FoulkseyDarkRose
Summary: Caroline Forbes is missing and Elena wants to find out what happened to her. Unexpected revelations and insights lead Elena to love, hope and worst of all.. despair. Set before Season One. Caroline flashbacks and some Stefan-Damon scenes will feature. Please enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Elena POV

* * *

The train was going too slow for her liking. Far too slow. Not fast enough. Elena Gilbert sat miserably with her bony elbows gabbing into her knees. Rocking her self unconsciously, like a child in a crib. The impulse to look up and see her friend was devastatingly haunting. Her friend was not there, she knew. Caroline Forbes would never ride a this train, or any train for that matter, again. It was impossible to be somewhere if you're dead.

Elena turned violently towards the window. She had promised herself she would not cry on this journey south. She owed that to Caroline; at least. They had to know, even if it killed her inside...

Tears dribbled straight down her olive skin, causing a saline taste in her mouth. The world outside sped passed the moving train in a blurry window. Her vision was watery much like her take on this entire thing.

Caroline had been perfectly healthy. Physically, the girl was a DNA-copy of Wonder Woman. She had owned the most beautifully natural platinum blonde hair, gorgeous eyes and a clear complexion. Most girls in their home town of Mystic Falls were terribly envious of Care – her winning of the junior prom's Homecoming Queen title a few months ago probably had not helped that much. Even so, Elena could not deny how loved the Forbes teenager had been.

That's why it didn't make any sense for her life to end.

There was an alienated buzzing sound in Elena's pocket of her denim jeans. Sighing, decidedly ignoring the annoying thing with all her might, she looked around the cabin. It was a small oblong with sliding doors opposite the exterior window. Made from mostly a golden shaded wood, she could see, the room looked as thought it was straight from the Harry Potter world.

Buzz. Buzz.

Buzzzzzzzz.

Feeling somewhat disinclined, Elena took the phone out as she lent back to rest her head on the wall behind her. Holding it up, she saw the screen announce that she had one message from her Aunt Jenna, wishing her a safe journey. She smirked at her Aunt's pathetic attempt at parenting. Jenna did not even know where she was going. How she was going to raise the Gilbert family was anyone's bet. Immediately, however, she felt bad for such malicious ideas. Jenna was trying her hardest, she knew. It was a lot to take on in one suddenly blow. People expected Jenna to handle the death of her sister whilst somehow looking after Elena and her kid bother Jeremy.

Jeremy... Elena worried about him even now, as she was acting as the bearer of bad news. The fifteen year old had taken their parent's deaths early last June hard. Elena had retreated to her writing, her diary and her friends. Whilst Jer had relied on drugs and alcohol to get rid of the emptiness both siblings had felt since their parent's had crashed the car of Wickery Bridge. It only made it worse to think that Elena had survived the crash, somehow, whilst they did not.

Her thoughts of death made her wary. First it was her parents and then Caroline... It was too much. The phone slipped from between her fingers to land with a dull thud on the velvet seat beside her. The truth of what she was about to do was finally sinking in.

_How was she supposed to tell someone their long-distance girlfriend was missing?_

_Or_, as Elena instinctively could tell, _was dead?_

* * *

**Authors Note: I think the Vampire Diaries show is all about the Damon x Elena x Stefan love triangle, which is a shame because the readers have created some pretty amazing and rich storylines for the other characters.** **This is the main reason for me starting fanficts: because the show is so predictable now. Anyway, rant over... hope you enjoyed it so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two ** **Elena's POV**

* * *

The train finally stopped at the station in Ashley Heights, North Carolina; Elena was stir-crazy. Being trapped in that room for over an hour, contemplating everything had... sucked. Majorly. She grabbed her over-the-shoulder leather bag and her phone before escaping out of the claustrophobic, wooden prison.

By the time she made it out of the train most of the previous passengers had left, meaning she could easily pull out a piece of crumbled paper from the depths of her messed up bag. On it was _his_ address. The man she had come to see lived, according to a Map application on her phone, less than two blocks away.

Elena looked up and allowed her long, flowing dark chocolate hair to scatter around her shoulders. The sky was still a summer lapis lazuli blue and the warming yellow sun was directly above her eyes. She decided to walk and get her blood pumping. It's what people do when they're worried anyway. Her dad used to do it. She may as well kill two birds with one stone.

_Kill_...

She mentally shook herself and started heading east, her back on the train she was so glad to wave goodbye to. She thought of the task ahead of her. Caroline had been writing letters to this mystery boy for almost a year. Every other conversation with her mentioned him. Not that she ever said his name, nor were he lived. Elena had to swipe this slip of paper in her hand from Sheriff Forbes to find out.

The first block was dead empty. Closed down businesses and things .. she didn't even know what they were supposed to be. _Clothing stores for zombies?_ She guessed, making herself laugh out loud for the first time in weeks. Her throat made a slight wine in a protest to the forgotten action whilst she crossed the road to get to block number two.

This is it, she thought looking up at a gigantic apartment building that took up the entirety of the block. It was impressive. Living in a plain all-american suburban home your entire life meant that anything else was exotic. Elena furrowed her brows together, biting her lip. The paper said he lived in apartment 2A. Her knowledge of hotels helped her recollect how 1A was near the bottom and it went up like so. Therefore, she supposed 2A was on the second floor.

Elena walked up the steps, readjusting her shoulder bag with had suddenly grown heavy, on shaky legs. What if the guy was an axe-murderer? Or worse... She forced herself to throw open the door and head up the first set of stairs on her right. No point in looking around. She definitely wasn't staying for long. Only enough to respect Caroline.

All the corridors looked the same on level one. She had a struggle to find the next set of ascending stairs. Her brown doe-like eyes scanned the area with what she knew was a petrified look on her face. Her legs carried her forward until, like some messed up dream, she found 2A and knocked. Hard.

The door creaked open steadily to reveal a nicely furnished boot room. Judging from the distances between doors, she could tell each room wasn't a room – but a suite. She got an eye full of shoes and coats.. all of them masculine. Which definitely explained the man in between her and the suite itself. Elena looked steadily up at the most pale, devastatingly beautiful man she had ever seen. His blue eyes matched the outside sky and his jet black hair unsettled in an all natural bed head. He smirked as sexy, slow grin at her as he looked her up and down. _Focus_, she thought before pulling in a laboured breath.

"Are you Damon Salvatore?" She asked, feeling scared. What if it was the wrong room? That would be so embarrassing. Comprehension dawned over his beautiful face, his grin widening.

"Is that you? Caroline Forbes!" He answered, sounding throughly overjoyed and yet remaining his sexy demeanor.

_Huh?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Flashback Chapter**

**Elena POV: Flashback**

* * *

_"Helloooo, ladies," Duke greeted us to the party. He had only just left college and was already partying with the high schoolers of Mystic Falls. In other words, he was the 'Party God' for my generation._

_"Hey Duke!" I replied as Care and Bonnie giggled at the stoned twenty-one year old. I looked around the party in action among the woodland. It was already in full-throttle, people were making out under trees and the crappy christmas lights. A tall, broad-shouldered teen caught my eye and I nudged the Amazonian-like girl next to me mid-way through her flirting with Duke. _

_"What?" She hissed._ Woops,_ I thought. Caroline had always had a hard time getting guys and we couldn't figure out why. No matter how many magazine quizzes we took for her at sleepovers. She thought it was her height. I thought it was her shallowness, not that she was that shallow and I still loved her anyway. Judging by her wearing her 'I am so peeved off' face, she did not appreciate me interrupting her flow. It was a rare moment when she could captivate a guy's attention. I felt dreadful immediately as Bonnie swooped in to take Care's place before Duke. Before she could retaliate, as I pulled Care slightly away from the two. _

_"Look," I nodded at the blonde boy stood near by the keg stand, who was laughing his handsome head off at the upside down guys failing to drink the beer fast enough. I smiled at Care's face when she saw him. It was so sweet that she fancied him. Us four - Bonnie, Matt, Care and I - had been friends since first grade. They deserved to give it a shot, right? _

_Bonnie and Duke toyed with together, making witty comments behind us. That was the signal for us to move on. Duke was cool, yeah, but not legible to date. Care and I grabbed our smallest friend my her arms as we made our way through the raving crowd. Hands were grabbing at each other and I had to slap several away from my ass. Caroline made countless rude comments from the other end of my backwards-reaching arm. Someone must have tried to grab her, too. _

_Matt looked sheepishly up at me when we finally managed to reach his spot. He was drunk, which was rare for him. Ever since his mum had found her new guy - Pete something? - and left to travel in his delivery lorry with him, Matt and his sister Vicky had to care for themselves. It was hard, but Vicky was legal so they could stay here in Mystic without trouble. My mum liked to have them over for dinner once a week, just to make sure they ate properly. My mum was so nice. _

_"Hey, Matty," Care muttered, suddenly shy, and she glanced at my hopefully. I sighed. Sometimes being the most selfless girl in town was hard. And unfair, I decided as Matt continued to look at me. He hadn't heard her over the music. _

_"Hey, Matt." I said, decidedly louder. _

_"Hey, Elennaaa," He slurred sweetly whilst an adorable smile grew on his lips. That was also rare these days. _

_"You wanna dance with Caroline?" I asked him, making Caroline glare at me. _What? _I mouthed. She sung her head down, visibly ashamed, and I turned to see her as she stalked off. Bonnie looked at me, told me she would see if she was okay, and left in Care's quake. _

_"Jeez," I muttered. Matt looked at me sharply. How had he heard that?_

_"You wanna dance?" He said, sounding suddenly sober. Weird. It sounded great, I needed to shake off Caroline's envy of me. It was not my fault she didn't know how to talk to guys._

_"Sure."_

_He took my hand and lead me to the middle of the jumping group of our class mates. His body was familiar. Usually, he took it in turns to dance with each of my friends at school functions because we were that close. But this time was different, somehow. It might have been the beer, and the Vodka, but he was looking at me strangely as we shook our hips and moved to the beat of the Number One song for that week._

_From my side, Tyler Lockwood handed me a drink. I smiled at him cautiously. We weren't actually friends because he was a_ jerk,_ but I had known him all my life. I took a slip. It tasted like my favourite, rum and coke. Duke had really gone all out this year with the alcohol chose._

_We danced for what felt like hours as more people came and joined in the festivities to replace the couples who had left to make out in the cemetary in the woods. It was tradition, kind of, that the party was held here. The cemetery just made it all so much more freaky and fun. The idea of dancing until you're dead was popular in the dead-end town of Mystic Falls. Nothing bad ever happened here, anyway. _

_By the time I saw Care come back in the corner of my wide eyes, smiling with a casual arm around Bonnie's waist, Matt and I were kissing. It just happened, and I pulled away as soon as my rationality came back to me. But it was too late. Care ran away from me for the second time that night. _

* * *

_**A/N What do you thinks going to happen? **_

_**-FoulkseyDarkRose**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Caroline POV: Same flashback as before._**

* * *

_Elena had gone and done it again. She had gotten the guy and I was left with nothing. Again. My best friend _knew_ I fancied Matt Donovan like a crazy little junior high freshman, and yet she had still hooked up with him at Duke's party._

_I stumbled as fast as I could down my road, hoping none of my neighbours would see me out in the dark. Every one in Mystic Falls knew each other since childhood. Mother's had grown up with mother's. That's why I wasn't jumping at Elena's pretty little neck now; I had to live near her. This was also why I was wearing a beanie hat to hide my hair. If anyone glanced out their wind at me, all they would see is the shadow of a drunk girl practically flying down the street. They would not see Caroline Forbes with her signature blonde hair._

_A wave of nausea came over me. Too many shots of Vodka did that to you. As the night-time world spun around me, I lent against the nearest lit lamp-post. And threw up, retching my guts out. _Never, _I scolded myself, _ever drink that much again. _I had always liked to drink but then again: who didn't at my age? Only losers had never even smelt beer before._

_The pizza I had eaten earlier that night with Elena and Bonnie Bennet was all gone from me. Feeling weirdly better, I looked around at the lamp and moon lit road. It was my road, my house only about five suburban houses away. Elena's house must have flew past a second ago. Shaking, I raked my brains to figure out why Elena and Matt had kissed in the first place..._

_I could remember arriving at the party in the woods at around seven, arm in arm with my two best friends. We looked awesome. I was wearing a zebra patterned mini dress with a blue belt and matching heels. At 5 ft 9', I towered over my two miniature friends. I had felt powerful, oh so strong, then._

_That feeling soon went._

_As I remembered the earlier of that night, I couldn't imagine what Elena had thought in those god awful moments. My promise to myself broke as I started to cry. It wasn't just that I had lost Matt, I had never had him anyway. No, it was Elena Gilbert's breaking of my trust. This girl knew everything about Bonnie and I; I knew everything about them. _But_... I choked up and the sound of my sobs filled my sensitive ears._

_That's why I didn't hear him approach me._

_"Are you okay?" I heard a voice at my back whisper smoothly as a cool hand rubbed my back in a comforting way. I glanced behind me - making sure I didn't turn fully around - and saw a frigging Angel stood there. He was so..so hot._

_"Miss?" He asked me again. I frantically nodded, only to sway at the sudden movement. The angel's strong arms caught me, "What's your name? I'll get you home." He breathed with a worried look on his perfect faces. There were four of them... _Oh, I was still drunk. Duh.

_Panic set into me. He couldn't see who I was. The whole town will know about my break down by tomorrow if he did recognise me. That would ruin my chance at Miss Mystic Falls next year. I shook my head._

_"I- I only live down here, it's okay. Tha- Thanks." I gave my voice a deeper octave and took off. I could do that voice easily. I was really good at singing, having won talent competitions in the Grill year after year. No footsteps followed me in pursuit, which made me feel as rejected as I had before._

_"Listen," He said suddenly by my side. I jerkily turned away from him so he didn't see me and he continued, "My name is Damon Salvatore. I'm leaving town soon. You can '_talk' _to me... if you want." He emphasised with a haunting tone. The 'talking' part hinted that he didn't really want to talk at all. This gorgeous guy would hit on a drunk, lonely, crying girl at night? Just what I needed. I knew it was wrong and stupid but I needed something to take my him off Matt and Elena kissing..._

_"Look, thanks. But I'm really well-known around here. I can't do _that_." I said in my false voice again. He chuckled and I could see him turn his lips up in a smirk that made my heart flutter. It made my body heat up in a painful spike. God he was hot..._

_"But we can talk, like online, if you want..?" I offered, not wanting to let a guy like this slip through my fingers. Did I mention he was hot? And a good distraction from life. His reaction to that surprised me, he seemed oddly relieved._

_"Sure, sexting sounds good." He snipped comically. My mouth opened in shock and in awe. He was perfect for me. A guy I didn't have to become shy around. A guy with who I could say anything I wanted to. Freedom._

_"So what's your email?"_


	5. Chapter 5

**Elena POV**

**Present Day. **

* * *

"_Is that you, Caroline Forbes?"_

"Erm, no, sorry. Actually that's why I'm here..." Elena's sentence died in her mouth. How could she do this? You can't exactly come out and say that some guys sexting partner's, or whatever they call it, is dead. She had experienced far too much death in her life; becoming almost an expert.

"Don't be so mean to me," Damon whined in a comical voice. He grandly gestured for her to enter the apartment and started talking, with her following him, "Here's the deal. My brother comes back from a, _erm_, alcoholic rehab tomorrow morning and he doesn't handle it very.. well. I try to get him to drink... I mean, not drink, but he's addicted," He slunk into one of the leather sofas in the centre of the huge living room, "and he's my little brother."

"Damon, I think there's been a mistake. I'm not-"

"-excited to see me? Sure thing, Care, that's _very believable."_

"Honestly, Mr. Salvatore, my name is-"

"Hmm, kinky," He quipped, eyebrows jumping around on his forehead. Elena decided he liked him because obviously, he had a sense of humour. Kind of.

The man got up and crossed the room to open a large, ancient wooden bar. As Damon was pouring himself a glass of something (Elena couldn't tell what it was, having honestly been a beer-from-the-bottle-at-a-party type of girl) she contemplated the situation.

He thought she was Caroline. That much was obvious. Before coming up with a way to politely say that she was not her missing best friend, her mind screamed one word: _Shit_.

"So Car-o-line," He handed Elena a glass of the mystery drink without even asking, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She focused on the alcohol and not him. His eyes – so piercingly blue and "OMG" worthy – seemed innocent. Innocent as in, not knowing her dilemma because Damon Salvatore honestly was not the guy who only_ talked_ to women.

"I'm sorry, I should have called," Elena put the glass down and joined him on the sofa, "Something delayed my train, listen. There's something we need to talk about."

"I know, Blondie, but I don't think I can handle any serious stuff right now."

"What? This is serious Damon!" She grabbed his hands, urging him to understand that he needed to listen. Actually listen.

"Forbes, why aren't you drinking? It's your favourite." He avoided eye contact with Elena. It was that moment that decided everything.

The youngest Salvatore brother seemed to fly through the room, laughing his head off. All of him that was clear were his colours. Firstly, she saw that his sandy coloured hair had a serious a case of bed head and that his clothes were messy and crinkled. This guy was..eccentric.

"Crap, Stef, knock next time."

"Whatever, brother. I don't know why I didn't drink the human stuff sooner. The power is immense. Oh my god, who are you? You look like-"

"Shut up, bro."

"No." Stefan stopped his laughter, which brought him back into focus. He was just as beautiful as his brother, but they looked completely different. Somehow though, there was a resemblance, and Elena couldn't decide what it was, specifically.

Then suddenly he was right there – staring at her face like he knew her. A long-lost friend or something. It was really weird. Elena glanced sideways at Damon, and he got the message.

"Stefan, this is Caroline Forbes, my girlfriend." he explained, with a little too much emphasis on her name. Not her name, Caroline's. _Stay awake_, Elena scolded herself as she stuck her hand out to Stefan. He, in turn, licked it.

"Eww, dude? What the hell?"she shrieked, pulling away from the boy and glaring. Now she really looked at him, he seemed not older than her.

"Dude, really!? Dude, Caroline?"

"Your brother just _licked me."_ Shaking were her words, but she didn't mean to.

"You are human," The brother dead-panned in return.

"Well done, and what are you? A 'blood sucking' vampire?" She shrieked again when he moved closer, "DAMON keep him away from me."

"That's it, I'm calling Lexi if you don't start acting right, baby bro," Damon told his brother in a very authoritative tone.

This made Elena wonder who Lexi was, one of Damon's other conquests? As well as herself? No... as well as _Caroline. _God, something was really screwing with her head. Sure, Damon was hot. Stefan looked like a sweet guy. Their apartment was the size of her entire house laid out, as far as she could , the only visible suggestion of more rooms - from where she sat- were five incredibly dark panelled wooden doors. These doors surrounded this large main room like numbers on a clock. _Tick Tock_, she mused to herself.

Damon was the tick and Stefan was the Tock. Two sides of the same thing. They seemed pleasant enough, sure, and Stefan was acting almost humanly now that Damon was smoothly talking to him, without her attention. He had reacted to her oddly. Maybe there was some food on her face, or something, and he was hungry. Either way, he appeared all right. And Damon was hot, she couldn't help but feel pride for her friend. Snagging this guy.

Then it clicked. The brothers had similar builds, tall and muscular yet on the boyish side. Nothing too big, nothing too small. Just right. They were hot, yeah, but she knew that already even before her revelation. And before Stefan licked her hand.

"-Caroline is a temporary room-mate, you can't lick her again!" She heard Damon shout out amongst the brothers' argument. They still didn't know - not that she cared about that. What she cared about was hurting them. If Damon found out that_ Care _was missing then who knows? It may even affect the relationship with his brother. She couldn't do that. Bonnie had always told her that she had a big heart, sometimes too big, and that Elena was the most selfless person she knew. On the other hand, Caroline had often brutally called her out for being to self-obsessed.

Just goes to show how your best friends really do know you. Before her mom had passed away, Miranda Gilbert and Elena had their (unbeknownst at the time) last 'Girl's Night In'. It was whilst watching Elena's latest favourite movie, _The Perks of Being a Wallflower,_ Miranda told her daughter the truth: you become the people you hang out with.

Considering this, Elena had judged her friends in her diary that night, adopting a detached attitude. Bonnie was funny, kind, supportive.. the perfect best friend; if a little moody at times. Caroline was easy to read; seemingly confident but actually insecure and sensitive, also maybe a little shallower than most girl's in Mystic Falls. But also fiercely loyal, or she was, anyway.

Also that night, Matt had told her what happened after he left the party, the one were he and Elena had kissed for the first time, when he had gone to see if Caroline was alright. The poor girl had called herself a kiddie pool. Shallow. No-one liked her.

Caroline reminded Elena of Charlie, from _Perks, _because of how self-critical they both were. The film also brought to Elena's mind all kinds of things that she – as a popular girl – had never really felt firsthand. The main reasons why Elena liked it thought was that she looked weirdly like Charlie's sister, and because Logan Lerman was hot.

"Caroline?"

What was to stop her from staying her with the Salvatores? They seemed so nice. So kind. And to hurt them would be selfish: tactless and so savagely _Caroline._

"Damon, your girl's gone into shock. She got a look at my serious face,"

She really could not afford to pretend that she was Caroline: her missing best friend. It was wrong. It was so so wrong, but it could work...

Someone pinched her arm.

"Oww," She uttered, still trapped in the swirling well of her thoughts.

"Sorry, babe," Damon came up behind and hugged her securely, "You had ran off to Wonderland for a sec there."

"Right."

"So?"asked Stefan, who was serving himself to her forgotten glassful of mystery intoxicant, before gulping it down all in one. Impressive.

"Yes, I'll stay." The words slipped out of her mouth before her brain gave permission. Damon hugged her tighter, pulling her off the sofa to stand up.

"_Glad_ to hear it," Elena was aware of his sexy smirk on her suddenly frozen neck. It was wrong.

_What the hell was she doing?_

* * *

_**Author's Note: **__Sorry for not updating for, well, a long while! I got really behind on school work because I was ill and the teachers suck... so sorry. I've really missed writing - hope I never stop updating these stories again. _

**_Notice, actually more like a plea: _**_I am in some dire need of some literary inspiration, so will be very grateful if someone could private message me some recommendations of some good books? Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Elena's POV**

* * *

Damon guided her to the door on the furthest right from the large round room she had been in moments before. The door in question was not the interesting part. It stood aside to reveal a short corridor filled with candle holders on the walls, plush carpets and plants. Much like the corridor to a murder room in the horror movies, she thought, which didn't help her nerves. If it wasn't for the little nagging voice of Caroline inside of her head, she wouldn't have held onto Damon's hand all the way along.

He left her outside the door, not answering any of her question about the unique design and creepy architecture, promising that he would come back in a few minutes after he altered some of his plans for the following days.

She had never felt so horrible to see the retreating back of a man walking away from her. Leaving her alone in the creepy-ass corridor. When she heard a bang from somewhere, she jumped through the door. Elena could assume that bang it was Stefan, returning into his alcoholic high and licking non-consenting lampshades or something.

The silence after that was haunting.

After easily dragging her bag into the room with her, she slammed and lent against the cool wooden door. Her sweating skin created a tingling sensation of unexpected numbness where it made contact with it. Then there was her lungs. Iron fists were griping them in a vise-like hold. The mere effort to breathe properly was overwhelming; air got trapped between her lying pearly whites.

_What had she done?_

__"Oh, my god," She repeated, "Oh, my god." over and over again until the words lost meaning. Scraping her now tangled hair from her eyes, she looked properly at the room for the first time. Fury boiled deconstructing waves in her thumping veins. Fury at herself. Elena began to slowly pace the room. She counted each step.

_One.. two...three_

__Damon and his brother thought she was Caroline. Elena couldn't begin to comprehend what this meant; she saw it as an oppurtunity. The dark sex-god out there, the other side of the door and down a miniature corridor, had emailed Care for months. Talking about nothingness. And if 'lena had learnt anything from the deaths of her parents, it was that you never really know those you are close to. You being to take them for granted - never really moving forward. Elena could learn about her friend from this man. Unlock how Care's brain worked.

Bring her to life again.

She stopped stepping when she reached the fourth wall which was opposite the door. The problem was if she turned to face the exit she would run for it. Every instinct in her body told her to run from these brothers and leave peace alone.

Frustrated for what seemed the billionth time in the two minutes she had been in this cell of a room - Elena shook all doubts from her mind with a literal swing of her head. Fear of what Caroline would have said rattled from side to side. It was almost audible.

"Why do you get everything Elena?"

The brunette swung around at the sound of her dead friend's voice. There was nothing there but the furniture. A King size bed, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, a television and book stack which all looked like they were taken straight from some famous designer's workshop. And then.. just empty space. And a carpet that Elena guessed was persian or something like that. Her Uncle John had one similar, anyway.

Elena walked to where the voice would have come from, if it were real. The middle of the carpet, in the middle of the room, just before the foot of the diagonally placed bed. She could imagine Caroline running around this room, unpacking an unpractical sized bag like a tornado on crack. Elena could imagine her perfume - sandalwood, lemon and vervain - which was handmade by Bonnie's grams to protect her from evil. She herself had a similar one, but, Care's had always been more enticing. Elena whimpered and collapsed on the bed.

Her bag lay, unopened at her feet.

"Aren't you gonna unpack?" The voice was definitely there, but it wasn't Caroline's. Damon's lean yet muscular body stooped in the now opened doorway, with a bemused look on his face.

"Huh?" Elena said absent-mindedly, her thoughts still on her blonde friend.

"Blondie," Damon swaggered to sit on the bed next to her, "You haven't even been here five minutes. You've barely spoken. What's up with you?"

Elena flinched at his closeness - at the fact he practically was a stranger. The man put a warm hand on her back, moving in circular movements. A cute stranger, it seemed. She surveyed the way his plain black top shaped over his muscles and how sure of himself he was. It was almost hypnotic.

"It's nothing. I'm fine, just tired from the journey." She yawned delicately into a hand of her's for effect and lent away from him. Caroline would call this move playing hard to get. Elena knew it was just away of guys leaving you alone for a while, then returning like an elastic band. Or, that's how the jocks at Mystic High were like. Not that she had many guys - she only cared about having fun and spending time with the girls. If a guy wanted in, he had to try. Like Matt. He had befriended her, then kissed her. Whispered his admiration for her under the influence of Duke's alcohol concoctions. And everyone knew how that ended: Care had gotten hurt.

The blue eyes of her new companion searched her face before retreating. He nodded but sighed, seeming disappointed. Damon pulled back the covers for her and she complied. Fully clothed.

"Is that the new fashion now, sleeping fully clothed?" He asked, his eyebrows attempting to reach this hairline once again. Elena tapped the side of her nose and he gave a chesty chuckle.

"I only just met you in person, Salvatore."

"And?"

Her face reddened, "And it wouldn't be right for me to just -"

"- get naked."

"Yes, get naked." He teasingly pulled at the bottom of his top, smirking like crazy when she squirmed. Elena buried herself deeper into the bed. It had feather pillows, a light duvet and sheet, coloured black and red. The bed frame was a dark mahogany, which nearly made her giggle as she remembered to not put a knife into that, which reminded her of her favourite film and book series: The Hunger Games. The last thing she needed was Damon scalding her with a sharp, _"That's mahogany!" _Her mind went into a steady calmness. She pictures herself on the field beside Katniss. Ready to bite anyone who came near her friend. Elena would be loyal friends to Katniss, and they would work together to pull down the entire Games for the greater good of the districts...

Damon stopped teasing as her eyelids began to droop. Elena hadn't realised just how honest she was about being tired. Just as unconsciousness began tp spread over her like massaging fingers, she felt soft lips on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Blondie," He mumbled, caressing her face with a warm breath. The warmth vanished as soon as it came. Light and surprisingly quick footsteps left her room and the door's hinges moaned in protest at a sudden movement.

Elena remained there in the same spot, thinking about her history class with a man called Alaric which always would make sure she would sleep for a long time. He was a cool teacher, always looked out for her somehow, but boy. He could go on a bit.

Suddenly she was aware of a presence outside her room. And then another. Two pairs of feet creeped along the bare floorboards on the other side of the door.

"Damon, why did you call her Blondie?"said a muffled voice. It was obviously Stefan, but Elena was so sleepy it could have been anyone and she won't have cared. But she could hear caution in his voice as clear as anything.

"That's what she asked me to call her. I can't exactly call her my sexting-buddy, now can I?," Damon replied sarcastically and Elena had to struggle to not open her eyes. She couldn't imagine how Care's online conversations with Damon had gone. What they talked about was illegal in several states, anyway.

"She's brunette! And looks like Katherine!" Stefan almost shouted back at his brother in disbelief, to which Damon hissed at him to speak quieter, before speaking so softly she could no longer hear.

Her bliss vanished faster than Bonnie usually did to jump and defend her beliefs of being a witch - she was actually pretty fast at that when Elena questioned her about it.

Elena's eyes flew open in alarm. Stefan said she looked like Katherine. Not Caroline, Katherine. What was the brother's relationship with Katherine? Elena wondered before realising what Stefan must think.

She had to make plans. Tomorrow, she would go into town to buy some Blonde hair dye and get more Caroline-like clothes, since she only had this one outfit she was wearing and her pajamas. Elena would also have to practise talking like her friend and she'll have to hack her emails to see how she spoke to the Salvatore. Anything to let Caroline live longer for Damon, and herself. She admittedly missed her friend and regretted it all.

The possibilities of what she could do shot through her head. Places she could go under the alias of Caroline Forbes: sheriff's daughter, sixth grade hopscotch champion, beauty queen and upstanding member of the Mystic Falls community. Elena Gilbert could disappear for a while. She could hide from the trouble back home and get on with her plans for Damon. It was all 'maybe's however, there were still problems and loopholes she would have to ponder tomorrow.

But there was one thing she knew that was utterly and undeniably true...

Stefan Salvatore thought she was an imposter.


End file.
